Taiwan is poised to play a more prominent role in international oceanic fishery following the election of Sun Chi-lu to the position of vice chairman of the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species (ISC), the Fisheries Agency said Aug. 3.
Sun, professor at National Taiwan University’s Institute of Oceanography, has been an active participant in the ISC for many years and is a key member of its billfish working group, the agency said.
“I am deeply honored to have been chosen for this position,” Sun said in a telephone interview. He credited honor to the continous efforts of Taiwanese researchers, as well as the government’s support.
“I expect to see more opportunities for our nation to contribute its strength to the global marine environment, as we have many good fishery techniques and researchers,” Sun added.
According to Sun, in recent years “Taiwan has transformed itself from an exploiter of oceanic resources to a protector.”
Sun was nominated to his new position by the U.S. delegation to the ISC and received a unanimous vote July 23 during the committee’s 11th Plenary Session in San Francisco. Sun took up his new position after the election, succeeding Michel Dreyfus of Mexico.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Overseas Fisheries Development Council, a semi-government organization, was elected director of the Statistics Working Group, one of five in the ISC.
The ISC is in charge of managing and conserving tuna and tuna-like fishes of highly migratory species in the North Pacific Ocean.
Other members of the ISC are Canada, mainland China, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the U.S. Taiwan first joined the ISC in 2002. Its current chairman is Gerard DiNardo from the U.S. (HZW)
Write to Aaron Hsu at pj1210meister@mail.gio.gov.tw